The Scientific Basis of Sociology - Essay Example

The research methods should be realized as means of acting on the environment and their quality can be judged by their ability to yield reliable results. The act of making observations in life is largely dependent on personal fancy, bias, ideological preferences, et, Therefore, the scientific process of building reliability and validity in life is essential and it should be based on the features of discovery and verification. Both discovery and verification are essential components of finding reliability and validity in life. Consequently, the scientific basis of sociology suggests that the discovery process and the issues of verification should be given equal significance in research methods. “If priority is given to the discovery process, the issues of verification, reliability, and validity become more than technical in natures of verification are placed above the discovery process, a wedge is driven between the goals and the methods of sociology.” (Douglas, 268) In the former case, the quality of research is determined by the public elements, whereas in the latter case the goals and the methods of sociology are affected. Therefore, discovery as well as verification should be given equal relevance in finding reliability and validity in life.